THIRTY companies in the Manchester Evening News/Brewin Dolphin Index of north west shares took a tumble on the week.

The index fell 2.1 per cent to 826.55, underperfoming the FTSE 100 which rose 4.85 per cent.

In a difficult market that shows no signs of bouncing back, Telecity plunged 12.50 per cent to 5.25p.

Sportswear specialists continued to suffer in a weak market, with JD Sports of Heywood dipping 11.43per cent to 232.5p and Dave Whelan's Wigan-based JJB Sport dropping 7.52 per cent down to 184.5p.

Having announced the launch of its budget airline MyTravelLite, Manchester-based MyTravel, formerly Airtours, watched as figures went down 7.07 per cent to 134.75p and Granada slid 4.44 per cent to 86p as ITV suffered its worst viewing figures in history, blamed on one-off programmes from rivals Channel Four and the BBC.

Eight companies saw rises, including United Utilities where shares rose 9.54 per cent to 620p, and drugs giant AstraZeneca, which increased by 4.85 per cent to 2355p.

Shares in 12 companies remained unchanged.

"The belief that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further next week boosted US markets and helped lead the FTSE higher.

"It has rallied well off recent lows, but it will take a considerable move to the upside, breaking out of this trading range, before traders are convinced the lengthy bear market is finally coming to an end," said Brewin's Julian Hardiman.